The present invention relates to an improved door assembly having a frame comprising opposed inner and outer compression molded skins which define a cavity for receiving a foam core and a central panel positioned within such frame. The central panel has inner and outer compression molded skins defining a cavity which communicates with the frame cavity and also receives the foam core.
There has been an increased demand for fabricated door assemblies with improved weather and thermal characteristics and increased durability. Doors that are all wood tend to rot with time and prolonged exposure to the elements. Wood also exhibits a high degree of expansion and contraction which makes sizing and operation of the assembly difficult. Both wood and metal frames are poor insulators when compared to certain plastics, foams and glass reinforced resin products. The seal between the frame and the framed material is also important to an efficient high quality door assembly. Poor seals provide inferior vapor barriers between the interior and exterior of the door.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a door assembly which is relatively lightweight and thermally efficient.
A prior frame assembly for doors and windows is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,951 of which I am a co-inventor. Under the invention disclosed in that patent, the frame assembly includes a first skin and a second skin in opposed relationship with each other and having a cavity defined therebetween in which a foamable insulating material is placed. The foamable insulating material fills the cavity and surrounds the edge of the central panel to form a weather resistant seal between the frame and the edge of the central panel, which central panel will frequently be multiple panes of glass.
Under the present invention, the construction is such as to permit the foam insulating material forming the core to be flowed into the frame cavity and from such frame cavity directly into the central panel cavity during the assembly operation to form the completed door assembly having a unitary foam core.
Accordingly, it is a further object of this invention to provide a door assembly in which the foam material forming the insulating core may be effectively and efficiently flowed into the frame and central panel in one operation irrespective of whether the central panel has cross and center rails integral with or separate from recessed panels.
The present invention includes modular elements of various configurations of panels and frames which can be combined, with or without glass panels, to form a wide variety of door assemblies.
Accordingly, it is a further object of the present invention to provide a generic central panel which may have one of a variety of specific configurations and which may be assembled with a standard frame to form an improved door assembly.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a door assembly having effective fastening means for securing the members forming the central panel to the members forming the frame.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification, drawings and claims.